Further proof that kids can make a game out of ANYTHING! Lauren was resting in her bouncy seat and Jack put his chin on the vibrating part, by her feet. She then tried to put her feet on his face, "kicking" him in the process. Well, that made Jack laugh, which made Lauren laugh too. They were both thoroughly amused with their brilliant new game! Thanks Grandma Laura for catching the action, and for watching the kids while Rob and I caught dinner and a movie :-)
This was one of those random moments that I was just lucky enough to catch on film. We were in the back yard and had just finished giving Gracie a bath. It was a beautiful, but mighty warm day, so we decided to hang out in the back where it was a little cooler and breezy. Jack was fully involved with his toy boat and didn't even notice I had the camera. Lauren was relaxed in her bouncy seat, cooing away and enjoying the breeze. This was a perfect moment in time. 
For Spring Break we decided to hit up most of our family for some fun times. We started off on Friday night for an early birthday dinner at Grandma Laura's. Chimichungas and homemade birthday cake, thanks Mom! After leaving Gracie for a slumber party with Abbi, we caravanned to Big Bear with Nikki and Max in pursuit. This was 
the first time Grandma Sylvia, 
Grandpa Ned, Aunt Susie and Uncle Daniel got to meet little Lauren. She put on a wonderful show, smiling, laughing and flirting with everyone. Jack got to play with all the extended family; Uncle Daniel flipped him in the air (before dinner), Max and Jack had a mini Easter egg hunt around the pool table, and 
Jack played Batman with Grandpa for hours on end (Jack decided Grandpa was Joker, how perfect!). On Sunday Rob and Jack went tubing at Snow Play, probably the last day for snow this season. 
It was slushy and muddy, but Jack had a blast! At one point Rob was lying on the tube with Jack on his back and Jack was sailing down the hill with his arms up in the air, holding onto nothing! What a little daredevil. It was a beautiful, sunny weekend up in the mountains with temperatures around 65 degrees both days. Perfect Spring weekend. 
Monday we ventured back down the hill to Palm Springs. Rob had business meetings to 
attend, but we managed to squeeze in some family fun there too. Grandma Dotte was having a good week and was able to visit with us twice while we were there! We dropped in to see her briefly on Monday as soon as we arrived in town and then we picked up Murph's fried chicken on Wednesday and had an early dinner together before we hit the road back to Ventura. Grandma Dotte got to cuddle Lauren for the first time and Jack showed her how to race cars in Saint Tropez (on the iPad). We sat at the bar together overlooking the gorgeous view of the golf course, laughing, chatting and enjoying our time together. Such a perfect afternoon.
On Tuesday night we visited Carlo, Tara, Luke and Collin for yummy pasta pomodoro, a bottle of Bella Barbera and Maestro's butter cake (a la Tara). 
When we arrived, Jack knew his cousins were his soul mates when Luke put on a Batman cape and Collin dressed up as Darth Vader! They played all evening while we got to have the most wonderful dinner with Carlo and Tara. We laughed so hard, mostly about parenting, that my sides nearly split. Fun times, indeed!
Jack doesn't wear short or long sleeves on his shirts, he wears up or down sleeves. This morning I asked him if he wanted to wear short pants since it is going to be hot again today. His response? "I want to wear up pants." Cute! 
Little Miss Lauren is already 5 months old! She is laughing and smiling all the time. She has even started shrieking in delight, but not to our delight. I swear she could rupture our eardrums some days! Today she had her first visit to the swimming pool as our temperatures here in Ventura neared 80 degrees. She might be my water baby because she didn't even mind when Jack splashed her in the face. She also seems to be teething. She gnaws on her fist constantly, even while I try to feed her rice cereal. It's messy, but fun. Jack loves making faces at her 
and she is his greatest audience. She will crane her neck around to see him from any angle. The other day she laughed hysterically while her talked to her in his Batman voice while wearing an Ironman mask. He loves her and she is his biggest fan. I love watching them together, warms my heart.
Jack is, of course, as adorable as ever. He had fun swimming today and we went to the park this morning. Yesterday we drew pictures on the driveway with sidewalk chalk and he went to school in the morning. He is becoming quite a character and is developing a sense of humor and good timing. Last night Daddy said, "Don't tell Mommy." And he joked, "Oh, Mommy....." His new favorite song is "Who Stole the Cookie from the Cookie Jar?" He likes to raise his shoulders and say, "Who? Me?!" Too cute!
Grrrr...It has been a week since our fun visit from Tutu and Grandpa Nick, but I've been struggling to get the pictures posted. If it's not one thing, it's another. A problem with the camera's memory card, my inability to get the photos uploaded to the Mac. Well, here are a couple of photos and there will be more as soon as I can get the &^@#*% camera to cooperate!
